Chapter 32

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

C olson

“I don’t understand.” Mom had her arms folded over her chest, crushing her latest pair of readers. “Warrick told me you left Blueball yesterday in a huff.”

Maybe stopping by Mom’s place before meeting Tully was a bad idea. I needed hype people around me, not this. “I don’t do huffs, Mom.” I used air quotes around that silly word. “I’m a grown-ass man.”

Mom rolled her eyes. “You’re definitely an ass,” she muttered under her breath.

“Mom! Seriously? I came here for encouragement, not browbeating. Dad said he wanted me to move back home. I’ve done that. Tonight I’ll settle things with Tully. But I want to see about my piece of Timberwolfe Farms.”

Mom uncrossed her arms and sank onto the couch next to Em, who had Vivi bundled to her chest in a sling. “You know your father and I always dreamed of you boys living here and building your homes on a part of the land. You’re welcome to any piece, except my lot or Warrick’s.”

Warrick grinned at me, always the smug older brother. “I got the piece with the stream.”

I dipped my head in acknowledgement. “Good for you. I’ll take the back lot where your screaming kiddos won’t wake me up at an ungodly hour.”

As if to highlight my reasoning, Vivi shifted her bald head off Em’s chest and let out a squawk. Em kissed the top of her head and leaned side to side on the couch, settling her back into slumber.

Mom lifted her hand in the air. “Glad that’s decided. But I’m confused. If something happened with you and Tully, why are you talking about settling down? I thought you’d be making plans to move elsewhere.”

“I’m living on the back side of Sofia’s property like a college kid. I’m forty-two, Mom. I need to get my shit together and make a home base for myself here in Blueball. I want Em to build my house.” I looked at her. “You can slot me in your schedule, right?”

Em smiled. “Of course. I’ll even give you the friends and family discount.”

I shot her a wink that earned me a growl from Warrick. “There. That’s done. Place to live. Now I can court Tully like a goddamn adult and let her know that I’ll follow her anywhere. If she wants to do another television show, I’ll just go with her. Let her explore her dreams. As long as we’re together, I don’t care where we go. And we will always have this house in Blueball to come back to.”

“Is that what Tully wants to do?” Mom asked, concern written across her face.

Em and Warrick seemed perfectly calm, which was weird. Warrick had been texting the hell out of Boon while I was in Texas, wanting to know what was going on with me. Now, he seemed like he almost didn’t have a care in the world.

I shrugged, then dug in my pocket for my truck keys. “I don’t know. But I’m on my way to talk to her, along with begging her to let me follow her. This isn’t going to go down like last time. I’m not digging my heels in and crushing her dreams. She’s my dream. Always has been, I was just too hardheaded to see that our future could look different and still be amazing.”

Mom got to her feet and wrapped me in a hug that felt like the ultimate comfort, even at my age. “I’m proud of you, son. Go get your girl.” She pulled back and beamed at me.

I headed for the carriage house to get showered and to change into clean clothes. I wanted to look my best meeting up with Tully. When a guy shoots his shot, he’s got to put some effort in. Tully’s things weren’t strewn across the place like they had been when I left. In fact, it looked like she’d packed up and moved out, probably back to Sofia’s place. I could have let that fact bring me down, but I refused to give it any play time in my brain. Things weren’t over. They’d never be over for the two of us. I just had to prove to her that I was all in on her dream this time around.

Before I left, I booted up my ancient laptop and printed something out. I folded the piece of paper and put it in my back pocket. Then I was off to grab a bouquet of flowers and see my girl at You Got Served, the local ice cream shop.

I chose a seat right outside on the patio, under the string lights and between two decorative trees. The metal chairs weren’t made for comfort, but the nightlife of downtown Blueball made up for that fact. Families strolled by, couples held hands, people waved to each other and offered friendly conversation. The downtown area looked like it was built with a Hallmark-small-town scene in mind, except Blueball went a little crazier with the paint colors. You Got Served had all thirty-one flavors represented on the mural painted on their outside wall. They’d hired a famous artist from Idaho to come paint it earlier this year and it really was stunning.

My breath caught in my throat when I noticed Tully come strolling down the sidewalk in my direction. She had on a pale yellow sundress that accented her tan skin and showed off her fit legs. The tiny cap sleeves ruffled on her shoulders in the breeze. Flat sandals clicked against the sidewalk and a little purse thing dangled from her wrist. Her hair was down and curly and on its way to the kind of frizzy mess I loved. It wouldn’t surprise me if she had a hair tie on her wrist, ready to put the whole thing up in a bun on top of her head. I hoped to get my fingers in that hair before she did. I stood on shaky legs. Her gaze shifted to me, her eyes lighting up before she smiled. Hope expanded in my chest. She didn’t look like a woman about to break up with the love of her life.

“Tully,” I said more calmly than I felt. I held out my hand as she came around the wrought-iron patio fence and approached my table. She slid her palm in mine, the calluses there matching up to the same ones I had. “Thank you for meeting me.”

Her head tilted back, dark eyes shining from the soft string lights above us. “Thanks for coming back to town.”

I grinned sheepishly. “You know me. I had to get some fresh air to think.”

She dipped her head and let go of my hand, moving toward the chair across from mine where the bouquet of flowers waited for her. “I do know you, Colson. I’d like to think we’ve changed over the years, but remained largely the same person we’ve always been.” She picked up the flowers and buried her nose in them before setting them down again.

We both sat down and I leaned my elbows on the table, wanting to be closer to her any way I could. “I’ve always been in love with you. That I know for sure.”

Her eyes softened. “I’ve never doubted that.” She shifted closer, her elbow on the table and one hand just an inch from mine on the tabletop. Her other hand stayed buried in her lap. “Did you know I came back to Blueball about six months after I left the first time?”

My jaw just about hit the table. “You did? Why? When? Why didn’t you…?” I had so many questions.

Tully smiled, but it looked sad. “I was doubting my decision. Missing you terribly. Thinking I’d made a foolish mistake. I came back to the house we’d rented and you were there, a moving truck in the driveway. Boon was on the stoop, helping you move the couch out the front door. I slid low in my seat out on the curb at the neighbor’s. You were both sweating and grunting. You got it in the truck and then Boon clapped you on the shoulder and said he was proud of you for turning your life around. You smiled.”

I grabbed Tully’s hand, squeezing it. “You should have gotten out of the car.”

Her eyes filled with tears. “I know every single one of your smiles, Colson. Yours that day was sad, but there was a hint of pride in it too. I sat there, knowing I couldn’t break your heart again just because I was having doubts. You deserved better than that. So I waited until you went back in the house and I left.”

My chin dropped to my chest, my heart aching with all the narrow misses. All the chances we’d squandered. All the times fate, life, the universe, whatever, had tried to get us together and we’d fucked it up. A surge of energy filled my veins and had me lifting my head with fierce determination. My fingers tightened on hers.

“We’re not doing this again.”

Tully’s eyes went wide. “No?”

I shook my head. “No.” I reached in my back pocket and slapped the folded piece of paper on the table between us. “We love one another and nothing is going to force us apart again. Not on my watch.”

Tully’s gaze dropped to the paper. She pulled her hand from mine and unfolded it, her eyes quickly scanning it. I knew when she got to the part about me resigning from the fire department because her mouth popped open in surprise. “Colson!”

“You want to do the reality show? Fine. Want to do any other show? Great by me. Want to move to Europe? I’m all in. Want to live in a van down by the river? Sign me up.” I grabbed her hand again and nearly lunged across the table. “Wherever you go, I’ll be right by your side, Tully. I’m not letting you go without one hell of a fight this time.”

Tully’s face morphed into a blinding smile. “Well, I’m really glad to hear that.”

And then all hell broke loose as the fire alarms inside You Got Served went off, and a fire truck came barreling down Main Street with its lights flashing and siren blaring.